Footsteps in the Snow
by LadybugGirl7068
Summary: 'Perhaps it was to be expected when the other children asked him to go with them. The sun would be up soon, but they didn't have to stop playing.' This is under Mythology, but it's because I made it up.
It was a cloudy day. The winter this year was cold and harsh, and a small layer of snow dusted the ground. There was some wind, but not enough to be biting. It blew the bare branches of the trees every once in a while.

The park was empty, just as it had been for years. No one dared to go to it these days, and parents kept their children away no matter how tempting the big slide looked. And every time a parent dragged their child away, the child might say something along the lines of, "But _they_ get to play there!" And the parents would just shake their heads and keep walking.

But it wasn't long before a child sat in a swing, barely moving. He wore a light blue jacket that matched his eyes, and the blonde hair contrasted with it. His yellow rain boots kicked feebly off the ground he was staring at. There were tears in his eyes; tears that were too old for an eight-year-old boy.

The sun went down and the people walking by ceased to exist. The boy still sat on the swing, though his tears had long ago dried. The park was illuminated by the bright full moon.

There was a reason why none of the parents wanted their children to play on the slide or hang from the monkey bars. It was why no one walked by after the sun went down. And it was why the animals never took a step near the place. Right next to the park was a cemetery.

There had been legends about this place; that the dead children would come out at night to play, and their laughs could be heard on the wind.

The little boy, however, did not know, or perhaps he did not care. Or maybe he did know, and was just looking for some company.

Either way, he did not seem at all surprised when the swing beside him was suddenly filled with another boy. He did not look up when the see-saw began moving. And he did not bat an eye when a girl who was missing an arm slid down the slide.

But he did allow a small smile to his tear-stained face. The laughter around him was too hard to ignore, and he found it not scary, but contagious.

He flew high on his swing and jumped out to play a game of tag. The snow crunched under his boots as he chased after the laughing children.

They mimiced birds and bumblebees as they ran, and no one noticed as the snow began falling.

The boy played with them, singing 'Ring-Around-the-Rosy' and 'London Bridge is Falling Down.'

He chased them through the obstacle course of a playground and took part in a contest to see who could fly higher on the swings.

Not once did he stop laughing with the other children, and not once did a tear fall from his face.

And the snow continued to fall, just as it had all night. But it didn't stop the children.

And I suppose it was to be expected, and perhaps the boy expected it too, when the other boy from the swing asked him if he wanted to go with them, so they wouldn't have to stop playing.

"Our parents will be calling us home when the sun comes up," The girl with only one arm added.

The other boy and girl from the see-saw nodded and held hands.

And the little boy, with the blue jacket and yellow boots and tears too old to be his own, looked back down the street. He bit his blue lip and made his decision.

"I think I would like that," He replied. And the other children smiled. "Race you to the swings!" He yelled with a laugh.

And so they flew once again on the swings, and the boy flew so high he swore he could touch the moon.

But after some time, the sun did come up. And the other boy from the swing held out his hand to the blonde one. And his yellow boots stood up from the barely-moving swing. And for the first time that night, his hand grasped the other.

They ran the few feet to the cemetery and disappeared into the falling snow.

* * *

The next morning, when few people were awake, a little girl looked out her window. The tears on her face were too old to be her own. But she blinked them away to see a little blonde boy with a blue jacket and yellow boots, who appeared to be swinging slightly on a swing. A small smile graced his features, blue eyes closed.

And the next night, she joined him as they held hands and disappeared into the softly falling snow of the cemetery.


End file.
